Lot F191 Las Vegas 2019
Jan 22-27

1983 Rickman Kawasaki Twin

815 kilometers since new, 900cc engine
star

Engine

900 CC

Color

Black

Highlights

Part of the MC Collection of Stockholm

Part of the MC Collection of Stockholm

This Rickman-framed Kawasaki Z1 is the quintessential Anglo-Japanese Café Racer. The Rickman brothers built the original specialist-framed sports motorcycles from the 1960s onwards, but by the 1970s and ‘80s, their café racers were more commonly built with Japanese or Italian engines. Don and Derek Rickman originally built motocross racers for themselves with lightweight, all-welded, chromoly tubing that were lighter and stronger than heavy lugged frames from British factories. Their chassis transformed the performance of British off-road racers and let the excellent engines from Matchless and BSA shine. Demand for replicas of their frames was strong enough for the brothers to offer chassis kits from 1960 onwards, and by the mid-1960s, they developed road-race chassis as well for Triumph twins. The Rickman frame was a double-loop design, much like the Norton Featherbed, and it was beautifully nickel-plated to better reveal cracks in competition. They also held the engine oil inside their tubing, which saved the weight of a separate oil tank.

After offering roadster frames for Triumph twins and Velocette singles in the 1960s as gorgeous café racers, the appearance of Japanese 4-cylinder motorcycles provided a new market. They widened their frames to accommodate the new 4-cylinder motors from Honda and later Kawasaki. The frames gave stable handling at any speed, which was a huge improvement over the standard Japanese 4-cylinder chassis of the 1970s and ’80s, which were known for erratic handling with a tendency to weave at speed. The Rickman brothers became a certified British motorcycle factory by the early 1970s, when their production was up to 4,000 bikes per year, making them one of the largest manufacturers in Britain in the industry’s declining years. Rickman-Kawasakis and Rickman-Hondas became some of the most desirable motorcycles in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, earning great praise from riders and the press for their transmutation of the heavy 4-cylinder bikes into graceful and beautiful Café Racers.

This remarkable 1983 Rickman-Kawasaki is in superb condition with only 815 kilometers (490 miles) on the clock from new. It’s part of the MC Collection, and it was first registered in Sweden with a Rickman frame, No. 7105H, and a Kawasaki 903cc engine, No. Z1E033436, from 1976. This amazing machine was basically never used and looks the part.

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Information found on the website is presented as advance information for the auction lot. Photos, materials for videos, descriptions and other information are provided by the consignor/seller and is deemed reliable, but Mecum Auction does not verify, warrant or guarantee this information. The lot and information presented at auction on the auction block supersedes any previous descriptions or information. Mecum is not responsible for information that may be changed or updated prior to the auction. The decision to purchase should be based solely on the buyers personal inspection of the lot at the auction site prior to the auction.